Olsen statue honours Bundaberg priest

Renowned Australian artist John Olsen is collaborating on a statue in the Bundaberg region north of Brisbane to honour a local identity, Father Patrick Walsh, reports the ABC.

The Catholic priest spent time in the Bundaberg area, as well as time of the Burma Railway and in Changi Prison. "He's done all the hard yards, as hard as it can possibly get. I hope the work does him justice," Olsen said of the priest.

Squeezed between two art buildings is a workshop where John and his collaborator, Chris Johnstone, both work on the piece. It is almost finished, and will soon be erected in front of a building bearing Father Walsh's name.

John hops the abstract nature of the piece will help to inspire the next generation of artists.